In verse 1, we see that Jesus has seven stars in His right hand, which Revelation 1:20 says are the angels of the seven churches. Jesus walks among the seven lampstands, which are the seven churches.
Verses 2-4 tell us that the Ephesians had endured for the Lord, but they didn’t love Jesus like they did when they first came to Him. In correcting false teaching, they had begun to care more about doctrines than being in the presence of God. They were doing more for a God they spent less time with.
As a result, in verse 5 Jesus told them to “repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.” This is a strong warning, because removing a church’s lampstand means removing its identity as God’s people.
On the bright side, in verse 6, Jesus complimented them for hating the practices of the Nicolaitans. Based on Revelation 2:14-15, we can assume the Nicolaitans encouraged compromise with the world, probably involving sexual immorality connected to demonic worship. [Numbers 25:1-3]
Anyway, Jesus finished by saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This means the blessings and the warnings Jesus gave apply to all of His followers, not just the Ephesians.
The Lord promised that “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” 1 John 5:4 says that our faith is the victory that has overcome the world. The one who stays faithful to Jesus will eat of the tree of life. He will inherit eternal life. The one who isn’t faithful, however, won’t enter the Paradise of God.